Padilla, Menendez, Cornyn Introduce Bipartisan Resolution to Designate 2022 National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week
Resolution recognizes the 559 Hispanic-Serving Institutions across the nation by designating the week of September 12, 2022 as “National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), co-chairs of the Senate Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Caucus, alongside Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), introduced a bipartisan Senate resolution designating the week of September 12, 2022 as “National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week.” The resolution recognizes the instrumental role of 559 HSIs across the country in educating and providing professional development opportunities to the next generation of emerging Latino leaders.
“Hispanic-Serving Institutions play a critical role in fostering our nation’s economic growth and vitality,” said Senator Padilla. “California is home to the most HSIs of any state, and I’ve witnessed firsthand how important their work is in providing more equitable access to higher education for Latino students. As a co-founder of the first-ever Hispanic-Serving Institutions Senate Caucus along with Senator Menendez, I’m committed to ensuring HSIs have the support they need to continue uplifting Latino communities across the country.”
California is home to 174 HSIs and 51 emerging HSIs, the most of any state in the nation. Last year, Padilla co-founded the first-ever Senate HSI Caucus with Senator Menendez. Earlier this year, Padilla introduced the Hispanic Educational Resources and Empowerment Act (HERE) Act, legislation that would address the enduring gap in college attendance and completion rates for Latino students by creating a new grant program to support partnerships and collaboration between HSIs and school districts with high enrollments of Hispanic and Latino students. Padilla also successfully co-led a bipartisan Senate resolution to express support for increasing the number of Latino students and young professionals entering careers in STEM.
“As the proud alumnus of one of New Jersey’s leading Hispanic-Serving Institutions, my life trajectory would not have been possible without the unparalleled academic and professional opportunities I received as a student at St. Peter’s University,” said Senator Menendez. “It is therefore with immense appreciation for my colleagues that I applaud the passage of this bipartisan resolution, which recognizes the profound impact Hispanic-Serving Institutions have in empowering Hispanic students throughout the nation.”
“As a member of the HSI Coalition in the Senate, I applaud the outstanding work of Hispanic-Serving Institutions to provide quality education for Texas’s growing Hispanic population,” said Senator Cornyn. “I thank educators at these institutions for helping their students achieve their full potential, especially given the challenges of these past few school years.”
The resolution is supported by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).
“HACU joins the 559 Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the observance of HSI Week to celebrate the many accomplishments in Hispanic higher education. We are pleased that the U.S. Senate has adopted the bipartisan resolution in recognition of the important role HSIs play in improving access to education and grateful to the offices of Senators Menendez, Padilla, and Cornyn for, once again, leading this effort in the Senate,” said Antonio R. Flores, President and CEO of HACU.
In addition to Senators Padilla, Menendez, and Cornyn the resolution is cosponsored by Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
Full text of the resolution is available here.
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